What does if you can't handle me at my worst mean?

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If you can't handle me at my worst ... you don't deserve me at my best. This expression is a meme in which people pair a bad image with a better counterpart, used by people to tease and then celebrate themselves "before and after" or to make other humorous jokes or ironic observations.

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Examples of if you can’t handle me at my worst

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Examples of if you can’t handle me at my worst

if you can't handle me at my worst then leave because i don't have a best i'm always an asshole

@ComedyPosts, July, 2018

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Remember the phrase 'If you can't handle me at your worst, then you don't deserve me at my best'. Well, that's honestly a good way of living life and forming relationships. Side note – I believe more in 'If you can't handle me at my worst, then I don't blame you because neither can I'. In my opinion, that's the better option.

Where does if you can’t handle me at my worst come from?

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The original quote that launched a thousand memes is “I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” This quote is generally misattributed to Marilyn Monroe, but it doesn’t have a verified source.

In the 2000s, the if you can’t handle me at my worst quote, was often seen in an inspirational image and became popular on online dating profiles. Between 2009–11, these kinds of pictures circulated widely on Tumblr, so much that by 2012, users on online forums like r/OkCupid and r/Tinder began making fun of them.

Into the 2010s, riffs on this phrase quickly became popular on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram. It became what’s known as a snowclone (e.g., X is the new Y). Here, it was If you can’t handle me at my X, you don’t deserve me at my Y. Other versions include if you don’t want/love me at myworst. Substitutes for X and Y, in typical internet fashion, were silly or clever, as seen, say, in The Simpsons’ Ned Flanders take: If you can’t handle me at my diddliest , you don’t deserve me at my doodliest.

The meme saw new life in March and April 2018, when the snowclone’s X and Y were usually pictures. Early instances compared pictures of K-pop stars and other celebrities: an older, dorkier, or lovably cringeworthy picture of them and a newer, hotter, better image.

The meme was boosted in April 2018 when Netflix’s US twitter account got in on the action with its own if you can’t handle me, using an example from Disney’s Hercules film. Other celebs, sports stars, and internet-famous folks created their own versions of the meme, which were seen as very humanizing and relatable.